Debt Relief Order Income, Asset and Debt Limits Explained

The four DRO limits

Spare income must be under £75 a month, assets under £2,000 and qualifying debts under £50,000. One vehicle is disregarded if it is worth under £4,000. Each limit is explained below, along with what is counted and what is ignored.

The limits are applied without discretion, so being £5 over is still over. The DRO requirements page covers the legal conditions that sit alongside these numbers.

How spare income is calculated

The income test is not about how much you earn. It is about how much is left after you have paid for the things a household reasonably needs. Your adviser builds a monthly budget with you, and the figure at the bottom must be less than £75.

Income from all sources

Everything coming in is counted: wages after tax, self-employed profit, benefits, pension income, child maintenance you receive, and regular contributions from anyone living with you. A partner's income is usually included alongside their share of the costs.

Reasonable expenses

Approved intermediaries use the Standard Financial Statement, the budgeting format agreed across the UK debt advice sector. It groups spending into categories such as housing, utilities, food and transport. Priority commitments that a DRO cannot remove, such as court fines and child maintenance, are included as expenses. Payments towards the debts you intend to put in the DRO are not.

A worked example

This person passes with £20 to spare, and a £40 pay rise would mean they fail. Working does not bar you from a DRO. Only the surplus matters, as our employment page explains.

What counts as an asset, and what is ignored

The asset test looks at the things you own that could realistically be turned into money. The total must be less than £2,000 as a single combined figure, and each item is valued at what it would fetch if sold now.

Counted

• Cash and money in current and savings accounts, including ISAs
• Premium Bonds and other National Savings products
• Shares, investments and policies with a surrender value
• Cryptocurrency
• Jewellery, antiques and collections of real value
• A second vehicle, or any vehicle above the disregard
• Money owed to you that you could collect

Ignored

• Household furniture, white goods and everyday electronics
• Clothing and bedding
• Tools, equipment and books you need for your job or trade
• One vehicle worth less than £4,000
• A vehicle adapted for a disability, whatever its value

Wages sitting in your account to cover the month's bills are not savings, but a balance that is genuinely surplus does count. Any interest in a house or land disqualifies you outright, as the homeownership page explains.

The £50,000 debt limit

Your qualifying debts must total less than £50,000 on the application date, using current balances including interest and charges. Joint debts count in full because you are liable for the whole amount. Excluded debts such as court fines, student loans and child maintenance are left out but must still be paid.

This is the limit that changed most recently. It rose from £30,000 to £50,000 on 28 June 2024, bringing a DRO within reach of people who would previously have had to consider bankruptcy. For the detail, see qualifying debts and debts not included.

How the vehicle disregard works

One vehicle worth less than £4,000 is ignored when your assets are added up. The value is what the car, van or motorbike would sell for today, which your adviser usually checks against a trade valuation guide.

If your only vehicle is worth £4,000 or more, its whole value counts towards the £2,000 asset limit. That usually means you do not qualify unless you sell it. A second vehicle counts in full whatever it is worth. A vehicle adapted for your disability or a dependant's is disregarded at any value. A car on hire purchase is not yours to count, but the agreement is looked at separately. The vehicles page covers each case.

Are pensions counted?

A pension pot you have not yet accessed is generally not treated as an asset. Money in a workplace or personal pension that you cannot draw, or have chosen not to draw, is left out of the £2,000 calculation.

The position is less clear once you are old enough to take money out. If you could draw a lump sum now, the Official Receiver may treat it as available to you. A lump sum already taken and still held is savings and counts in full. Regular pension income goes into the budget as income. Give your adviser the pension paperwork and let them confirm the treatment.

Windfalls and backdated benefits during the DRO

The limits keep mattering after approval. If you receive money during the 12 months, such as an inheritance, compensation or a backdated benefit award, you must tell the Official Receiver. A backdated award of Personal Independence Payment or Universal Credit can be several thousand pounds and counts as a change in your circumstances.

A larger sum can mean you no longer meet the asset test, and the Official Receiver can revoke the order. Our guide on what to do if your circumstances change explains the reporting process and the likely outcomes.

How the limits have changed

The thresholds have been raised three times since the scheme began in 2009: in 2015, in 2021 and on 28 June 2024. The 2024 change lifted the debt limit from £30,000 to £50,000 and the vehicle disregard from £2,000 to £4,000. The £75 income figure and the £2,000 asset limit date from 2021.

The Insolvency Service reviewed the 2024 changes in a report published in July 2026 and announced no further changes. Limits can still be revised, so check the GOV.UK guidance linked below. Do not move money or sell things to get under a limit. Giving savings to a relative or selling a car for £1 is a transaction at an undervalue, and the Official Receiver reviews the previous two years.